When is it okay to ask for a refund if the item never came?

[Sweetheart]

I'm awaiting on a Gusty who I'd already paid for. The item is overdue and at this point in time I'd like my money back to buy the pony elsewhere. Sadly I used guest check out on Paypal and it's hard to get a claim. I've messaged the user regarding the situation, but at this point I'd like my money back.

What else should I do?

[ponylady]

When was payment made? Also was there a tracking number provided for you?

[himmie]

Did you purchase the item here on the Arena?

When did you pay for it?

Did the seller confirm when it shipped or provide tracking information?

[Sweetheart]

The seller's being non responsive. I ordered from ebay.
It's about a week late, coming from the UK.

[ponylady]

I wouldn't rely to much on the item being a week late coming from the UK. The weather here in the states has really put a damper on delivery times. 

Also if this was eBay, unless you agreed to pay for it off site, you can open a case.

[MaronaPossessed]

If a valid tracking number was provided by the seller, then the seller is safe. International shipment, at most, takes a month to a month and 15 days.

but at this point I'd like my money back.

I know how impatience feels, but international shipments take a long, long time:P

[Lollipop]

I presuming you are in the usa (cant see on my phone).
It takes over a wk for anything to come from the usa to me here in the uk (normally just under 2wks).
How many days ago was it posted? Best to give it at least 12days to arrive in normal weather. As ponylady said weather can effect (i dont no the weather there) but if its bad that could b it. Unfortunately when things get delayed due to weather it can take up to a month for your item to arrive

Lollipop sent from her Nokia Lumia 1020 using Tapatalk

[ponycake]

That's way too soon imo. And that would only be fair if you sent it back when it arrived at your door, which the seller can't be sure you'll do and has no way to make you do that if he/she refunds. If you're going to buy overseas, you're going to need some more patience, I'm afraid.
I'm still waiting on a package from Germany (that was $400) and it's been over a month now, and I'm giving it another 2-3 weeks. I truly believe the seller posted it though and just figure it's very delayed, that's just me. But definitely 2 weeks should be the point where you start thinking about it, I think.

[Stormness_1]

Yep, you have 45 days to open a claim for a refund, and I usually wait out that time, because firstly, it's not always smooth sailing for international mail, and secondly, if it does turn up, then the right thing to do is either pay for it again, or ship it back out of pocket, and either way you lose if you've already bought another.

[goddessofpeep]

Packages from the UK used to be like clockwork - one week and it would be here.  Then the USPS budget cuts happened, and now things seem to take anywhere from 3 weeks to over 2 months.  They closed a bunch of sorting centers, and cut back on the staff everwhere. It's going to show at some point.

A week overdue is really not much. I'd even go so far as to say the package is really not overdue unless it's been in transit for over 2 months.

[ashlyne]

At the very least, you should give an international seller 3 weeks from the time they say they've shipped the package. If I suspect it's taking too long, I go to my calendar and mark 44 days from the time I've paid. That way, when that day comes, and I don't have my package, I've waited as long as I can to file a claim.

Please try to be patient and don't file a claim too quickly.   More and more these days sellers are becoming reluctant to ship internationally because claims are filed before buyers give the postal system enough time to do its job.  More often than not, it's not the seller's fault.   If it becomes too much of a hassle, these sellers will just stop shipping internationally and that just shrinks our pony world.   

[ponycake]

At the very least, you should give an international seller 3 weeks from the time they say they've shipped the package. If I suspect it's taking too long, I go to my calendar and mark 44 days from the time I've paid. That way, when that day comes, and I don't have my package, I've waited as long as I can to file a claim.

Please try to be patient and don't file a claim too quickly.   More and more these days sellers are becoming reluctant to ship internationally because claims are filed before buyers give the postal system enough time to do its job.  More often than not, it's not the seller's fault.   If it becomes too much of a hassle, these sellers will just stop shipping internationally and that just shrinks our pony world.

IA. The huge impatience of buyers makes me not want to ship internationally ever. It's not their fault when the postage is slow, and they get buyers on their back demanding a refund when it's likely the item will still arrive and they'll be out of both. When I start selling it'll 99% most likely be within the US only.

[babylofty]

I know you know this, as you live on the the East Coast as well, but we've been absolutely HAMMERED this winter with bad weather, from Maine to the Carolinas. It took two weeks for a Valentine's card to get to me in Maryland from Texas.  International packages have to go through customs, and considering there is probably a HUGE backlog at the moment, your item is probably stuck there, if it's still not on it's way. We just got another major storm today that cancelled every flight in and out of every major airport here in MD, DC, and VA. Imagine how that alone could affect packages getting to and from their destinations, let alone the passengers.

One week is WAY too soon to be asking for a refund - as someone said, 3 weeks is a good wait.  You just need to sit on your hands or distract yourself for another two weeks.

[Sweetheart]

If a valid tracking number was provided by the seller, then the seller is safe. International shipment, at most, takes a month to a month and 15 days.

but at this point I'd like my money back.

I know how impatience feels, but international shipments take a long, long time:P

Thank you everybody for your help.
It's just weird because I ordered another bunch of ponies from around the same area around three days later and they came last Friday :/

Also the shipping number doesn't work. Ebay says its shipped but the number is useless I keep getting an error. I sent a polite email just asking how it was going as they hadn't really tried to communicate with me. Maybe I'm supposed to communicate first? This is one of my first ebay transactions and I'm really confused)

And three weeks, got it! Thank you again guys sorry about the silly question.

[cloud_weaver]

Thank you everybody for your help.
It's just weird because I ordered another bunch of ponies from around the same area around three days later and they came last Friday :/

Also the shipping number doesn't work. Ebay says its shipped but the number is useless I keep getting an error. I sent a polite email just asking how it was going as they hadn't really tried to communicate with me. Maybe I'm supposed to communicate first? This is one of my first ebay transactions and I'm really confused)

And three weeks, got it! Thank you again guys sorry about the silly question.

Tracking #'s from overseas don't really truly track the package the same way one would in the US.  Every country has it's own tracking system so if you're getting an error it could be for any number of reasons.  :/